How to make a song your ringtone on an Android phone

Although most modern Android phones come with a wide selection of built-in ringtones—a Google Pixel running Android 14 offers 127 to choose from—you might prefer something more specific that reflects your personal style. Thankfully, customization is key with Android, and that includes adding your own custom ringtones.

The good news is that it’s pretty easy too. Unlike using a custom ringtone on an iPhone, Android smartphones let you grab virtually any MP3 or other compatible (and not copy-protected) audio file directly from local storage and use it as a ringtone.

This means that you can download an MP3 in your browser and assign it as a ringtone directly from your Downloads folder. You don’t need any additional software or a PC for the process, unless you want to edit the MP3 file. However, there is no limit to the length of your ringtone, so if you like the opening riffs of GNR’s Sweet Child O Mine or the Stones’ I can’t get satisfactionThen it can go.

For other songs, you may want to cut off the beginning so that you hear your favorite part right when the phone rings. For more information and some app recommendations to help you do this, check out our companion guide to creating and setting custom ringtones.

While MP3 is the most common format for ringtones, Android also supports ringtones in M4A, WAV and OGG formats.

How to download a song to your Android phone

Before you can set a song as a custom ringtone, you must first load it onto your smartphone. Android only allows you to assign ringtones from local folders, not from cloud storage services.

Note that the file selection screen that appears when you search for a ringtone allows you to browse Google Drive and other connected cloud services, so you will see audio files in those locations, but you will not be able to select them there. This does not mean that the audio file is incompatible, you just need to copy it to local storage before you can use it.

Fortunately, it’s not too difficult to transfer an audio file to your phone.

Step 1: If the song you want to use as your ringtone is available on a website, you can download it using Chrome.

Step 2: If the music file is already saved in Google Drive, open the Drive app, find the song, tap the three-dot menu and select Download.

Step 3: You can also transfer files from your PC or Mac via USB, Bluetooth, or Quick Share (formerly known as Nearby Share).

How to set a song as a ringtone on Android

Once you’ve downloaded or transferred the song you want, you’ll need to set it as a ringtone. The process for doing this varies slightly between different Android versions, but here are the steps for stock Android 14 running on a Google Pixel.

Step 1: Open the Settings app.

Step 2: Choose Sound and vibration.

Step 3: Choose Ringtone.

Step 4: Choose My SoundsThis will bring up a list of all the custom ringtones you’ve already added, along with the option to select None if you’d rather enjoy the sound of silence.

Step 5: Select the Plus button in the bottom right corner to add a new ringtone.

Step 6: The local file browser will open and by default will show you a list of recently added files. If you just downloaded or transferred your ringtone, it should appear here. If you don’t see it, select the hamburger menu in the top left corner and select Audio or Downloads to search for it.

Step 7: Once you find the song you want to use as your ringtone, select it and you will be taken back to the My Sounds screen.

Step 8: Your new ringtone should appear here. Select it to hear a preview and choose Save in the upper right corner when you are done.

How to remove a custom ringtone

Once you add a custom ringtone, it will remain in the My Sounds section even if you select a different one. Unfortunately, there’s no way to remove a ringtone directly from here after you’ve added it.

While it’s not very harmful to leave a ringtone on the list, if you want to clean up, you’ll need to manually remove the ringtone file using the Files app. Again, the steps for this vary between different Android phones, but here’s how it works on a Google Pixel.

Step 1: Open files on your phone.

Step 2: Scroll down and select Internal memory.

Step 3: Navigate to Android > media > com.google.android.soundpicker > Ringtones.

This folder contains all the custom ringtones you’ve added. Note that audio files are copied here, the originals will still be in your Downloads folder or wherever you have them stored on your phone.

Step 4: Select the three-dot menu next to the ringtone you want to remove and select move to Trashand confirm.